A few months after I arrived in Japan I noticed just how important space was in Tokyo. Beyond the obvious limitations afforded by a capital city with an extremely dense population, I started to notice how the management of space was also central to how a lot of things are done in this town - not just flats and habitations.

The impact of space, or lack of it, on how people live is the most obvious aspect of this, evident to anyone who comes here and spends a small amount of time looking at how and where people live. Coming from London, one of the things I’ve missed the most in my time living in Tokyo is house parties. Simply put they rarely happen in Tokyo, and when they do they’re not on the scale they are back in Europe. Instead people go out and party in an izakaya, a club or a karaoke booth. It’s fun but after a while it’s just not the same as a good old house party.

In a city where every bit of land is seemingly up for grabs, where doors appear in the most unimaginable locations and shops and entertainment are all located upwards of the street level, the limitations of space also impact the inside of flats, houses and public spaces. In terms of flats, and smaller offices, you end up realising soon enough that while space seems to be lacking there is always a way to make things fit. And the Japanese have developed a knack, and countless products, to help make the management of space inside cramped spaces as easy as possible.

Continue reading »

Popularity: 1%

written by Laurent \\ tags: crazy, Japan, people, push men, space, tetris, Tokyo, trains

May 21st is the date of the next installment of BTC, now a bi-monthly all nighter affair held on the third wednesday of the month. And it’s also my last BTC for the foreseeable future, so I’ll borrow from Skepta’s lyrics book and ask ‘Are you dumb?’ No? good cos you’d better get your ass down there, it’s a celebration bishes.

I’ll be doing a back to back set with the man like Ske for the occasion while 100 Mado rocks it back to back with ENA and Goth Trad does his usual ting of murdering the dancefloor. As for the live end of things, we’ve got Skyfish and Chinza Dopeness doing what they do best in fine combination style and Dokkebi Q dropping a live set! And seeing as these guys are living in London and not Tokyo, I’d say this makes the occasion a special one if it wasn’t already.

Full details are below. The venue is Club Asia, ladies are free till 1am, and there shall be bass and funky shit, a lot of it, truss. See you there! Peep the BTC blog for more and all that jazz. Oh yeah and there’s also a BTC Facebook group for the FB massive out there.

Continue reading »

Popularity: 2%

written by Laurent \\ tags: back to chill, clubs, dubstep, goth trad, Japan, mad rave, Music

I know I’ve been saying I was gonna start writing again properly for the last 4 months. So I’ll stop saying it. Instead I’ll do what every good blogger does, which is take inspiration from someone else’s work to knock up something of my own. Well kind of…

In this case I’ve actually been meaning to write about the cult of the cute in Japan for a while, but like most other things I haven’t gotten round to it. And considering I’m leaving the country in six weeks, I should really get my arse in gear and play catch up.

Back to the matter at hand. Japan’s love of cute, also known as かわいい　(pronounced kawaii - emphasis on the last i sound please). I was browsing the Sushimatic blog about an hour ago, and came across this post, which speaks for itself in terms of how far the whole cute thing can sometimes be taken in this country.

Thing is Japan really has this weird thing going on with cute. How a foreigner picks up on it depends on the person by and large, but regardless of your degree of ‘immunity’, sooner or later it really starts to stick out like a sore thumb. It’s not entirely exagerated either, as Sushimatic pointed out. There is probably a certain degree of difference depending on who’s speaking on it, but by and large Japan very much seems to hold dear the belief that everything can be ‘cute-d up’ and that making something cute can make it easier to ‘process’.

Continue reading »

Popularity: 2%

written by Laurent \\ tags: cute, Japan, kawaii, signs, society

The TEFL world just keeps giving to me today. Well actually, Alex’s blog is really the one that keeps giving if truth be told.

I stumbled upon this article which Alex had linked, and which is quite simply amazing in its detailing of the latest forays of English teaching in Japan.

The article details the efforts of a man, who runs a chain of Maid cafes, the quintessential otaku attraction, to set up a school which combines two very simple things: English teaching and cosplay (or cross-dressing using costumes from Anime and Manga). The fact that these two things really have nothing in common doesn’t seem to stop his incredible logic, which is pretty flawless when you consider his argument for such a mind boggling link-up:

Otaku are known for their incredible customer loyalty, while schools are known for their trouble in getting customers to keep on coming back, so I figured a school for cosplayers would achieve the perfect blend

And if all this wasn’t enough, the school’s English focus is also something to behold, deciding to go for that much avoided market of ‘Broken English’… you couldn’t make this up if you tried. Hell, look up the school’s site and its extensive ‘Maximal Broken English’ online lessons!

Still the best is kept for the end, as the article is wrapped up with a quote that I believe could well and truly transform the world of TEFL as it’s known. And if it doesn’t do that, it should at least provide for what could possibly be the most entertaining English lesson to watch or partake in ever.

“I want to start classes for kids some time in the future. And I’ll make the teachers get dressed up in Pikachu suits.”

Somebody give this man an award right now, please.

Popularity: 3%

written by Laurent \\ tags: geeking, Japan, Random, school, Teaching, TEFL

I’m going back to the world of Teaching English as a Foreign Language for a moment with shocking news of some dodgy dealings in said world. And yes the shocking bit is ironic to say the least.

I got an email from Alex Case recently warning about the head of a UK based language school who was being scummy to say the least. To make the whole thing even funnier, about a week after I got the email, said scummy school owner found a comment by Alex on this here blog and spouted some nonsense about Alex’s evil doings in trying to out him.

Anyways, apologies to Alex for leaving this a little late but continue reading for a warning regarding said school, namely Windsor School. For anyone thinking about a move into TEFL, or anyone who knows someone thinking about such a move, be warned about them, and while you’re at it I can only recommend that you do plenty of research before embarking on a TEFL ‘career’, especially one in Japan or any foreign country. While it would be great for the world to be an ideal place, the cold truth is that even when it comes to teaching the world is full of people that are only after money.

See my own posts on this blog (under the Teaching category) for more regarding my experience about teaching in Japan and especially working for Shane English Schools, who themselves have a bit of a reputation. And now it’s over to Alex.

Continue reading »

Popularity: 4%

written by Laurent \\ tags: dodgy, Japan, ripoff, Teaching, TEFL

Came across this article on Japan whilst looking for something the other day. Aside from being an interesting read for anyone who’s lived here for a while or is thinking of living here, the author makes a very interesting point that I can relate to, even though I’ve only been for a very short time compared to his 20 odd years.

And yet beneath all the motion and excitement, something had caught inside me in Japan, and it was perhaps (I see now) all that I couldn’t explain, everything that I couldn’t put into tidy boxes and pinwheeling sentences. I had walked around a temple near the airport at Narita, during a morning layover, waiting for my flight back to New York, and something in the mild October sunshine, the gathered quiet, the shelteredness of the scene, took me back, unanswerably, to boyhood and England: Japan made me feel more at home than I’d been in a life of traveling the globe.

This sense of home he talks about is something I’ve felt on multiple occasions in the last year, and everytime I’ve struggled to fully understand it. I think the main thing I struggle with is that while Tokyo, and Japan, has this ability to make you feel at home, more than even home can, it’s also undeniably alien and very much an environment in which a foreigner stands out, regardless of linguistic skills or social integration.

Yet despite this, Tokyo can very much make you feel at home, make you feel like belong in a sense, or if not belong that you’re in a place where it’s ok to just be. This contradiction between being regularly estranged and feeling embraced at times is funnily enough another contradiction to add to a long list I’ve discovered since being here. Maybe it’s just because of the way the Japanese are, how the society functions and operates that lets you be able to feel that just being is ok, that you are, as strange as it may seem in such a, at times, foreign land, at home.

It’s definitely one of the things I’m going to miss the most once I’m gone, especially when I walk around Tokyo and just take it in: sights, sounds and smells. It’s also a reason I would recommend anyone try it out here once if they feel they got it in them and want to experience something different. It’s a mindset too, you have to be in the right headspace I guess, it’s not as simple as just turning up and waiting for it to happen. But for anyone who has any experience of living in a different culture, or wants to really try it out, then I think Japan in a weird way definitely holds something nowhere else really does.

Popularity: 4%

written by Laurent \\ tags: Japan, Random, society, travelling, writing

One of the reasons I came to Japan was monkeys. Which may sound strange, but the fact is Japan is home to the world’s northermost monkeys, the famed Japanese macaque, first given fame by a cover on Time magazine of all places. Having seen the monkeys on TV a fair few times, I knew that if I was coming here for any length of time a trip to see the monkeys was a definite.

The snow monkeys live primarily in Honshu, though a friend of mine mentioned seeing them in Hokkaido as well even though various things I read seem to indicate that’s not the case (anyone with a clarification on that?). The most famous area to see them, or more accurately visit them, is near Nagano in a place called Jigokudani Koen, which roughly translates as Hell’s Valley apparently, due to the area’s harsh environment, regular coat of snow and hot spring geysers. What’s great about the monkeys in Nagano is that you really are visiting them, in the truest sense of the word. This is no real park, no fencing, no containment. It’s where they live, roaming pretty much free and doing what they please while humans hang around. Considering the state of some of the monkey parks I’ve seen elsewhere in the country, it’s an incredible experience to be able to see them in their natural habitat like that. What’s more, as they’ve become used to seeing humans hang around they’ve become pretty much oblivious to the visitors, which only makes the whole thing even more surreal at times.

The other thing the Japanese macaques are famous for, especially in Jigokudani, is their appropriation of one of the valley’s natural hot springs for their own benefit. Seeing as they live high up in the mountains, with freezing cold temperatures in the winter, you can easily see how a hot spring would suddenly become an enticing idea. And it’s around this hot spring that you primarily visit them. The picture of a monkey with its head poking out of the steaming water and snow on its head is a classic, and something of a signature pose for the monkeys.

Continue reading »

Popularity: 4%

written by Laurent \\ tags: chilling, holidays, Japan, monkeys, onsen

Animosity between neighbouring countries isn’t really anything new. Growing up and living in Europe I’ve become accustomed to plenty of it, from funny stereotypes to nonsense bordering on xenophobia. One thing I’ve realised since working at a newspaper here though is how deep the animosity between Japan and China sometimes runs, and how far and low some people will seemingly act on it.

Like all good rivalries, it runs deep and both ways, but my knowledge of the issue isn’t that thorough if I’m honest. I know the Chinese hold a grudge, well one of the most recent ones anyways, against the Japanese for Japan’s WWII aggressions and past attempts at imperial expansion in Asia (google the rape of Nanking as a good starting point). As for the Japanese, I’m not actually quite sure where their grudge comes from, anyone with any enlightening knowledge please drop a comment. One thing I do know is that I’ve met my share of Japanese who have been vocal about their distrust of the Chinese and seeming belief that China and its people are up to no good (broadely speaking of course).

What’s been really enlightening and entertaining though is the Japanese media’s practice of jibing at the Chinese for anything they possibly can. The most obvious examples I see everyday are those at the newspaper I work at, which is the country’s second biggest, and also on TV. At the newspaper the Chinese jibes are literally everywhere it seems. I’ll be editing a story, and all of a sudden there will be a totally unrelated sentence making a remark, generally negative, about China. If it wasn’t so funny in the way it’s done, it would be scary.

Continue reading »

Popularity: 5%

written by Laurent \\ tags: Japan, newspaper, Random, society, writing

It was trade show time again 2 weeks ago as the Tokyo Amusement Expo 2008 (aka Tokyo Arcade Game Show) rolled into town at the Makuhari Messe. Compared to the Tokyo Game Show, which is the year’s video game event by excellence, TAE is a much smaller affair spread over two days and taking in just one of Makuhari’s exhibition halls. When TGS rolls into town, pretty much the whole of Makuhari is taken over, and the majority of Tokyo’s geek community descends on the Chiba town. TAE was quieter and smaller, which didn’t necessarily make it less fun.

For one you get more space to stroll around, taking in all the glory of trade shows: the scantily-clothed ladies, the suits eyeballing people from the sides, the stall staff looking bored or scared, the geeks willing to queue 2h for a five minute blast on a yet to be released game and the hordes of pervy old men with big cameras chasing the aforementioned scantily-clad ladies. The arcade show had the added bonus of also being swarmed by hundreds of kids, dragging their parents to various stands displaying the latest wares aimed at the younger market, from card games to UFO catchers to… well, really weird shit.

Continue reading »

Popularity: 5%

written by Laurent \\ tags: akihabara, computers, Japan, society, video games

Had a good chuckle earlier today after reading this article in the New York Times I was linked to.

For those that don’t know, or can’t be bothered to read, the world-famous Michelin Guide, one of the things the French are most proud of, make no mistake, launched an Asian version of its guide for the first time last year. It chose Tokyo as the first city up for ‘inspection’ and came out with a stagerring amount of praise for the capital’s cuisine and its establishment, giving it more stars than both Paris and New York combined.

Which you’d think was good news for a city. But not for the Japanese it would seem, as the results were not just greeted with pleasure but also with a fair amount of discontent and disdain from some of the city’s top chefs it seems.

My favourite part as to be when chef Toshiya Kadowaki said his Nouveau Japonais dishes, which take inspiration from French cuisine, do not need a Gallic seal of approval. A lot of the disdain and refutal seems to either come from the belief that foreigners are not qualified to judge Japanese cuisine or that bragging, competition and awards go against the Japanese tendency to not stand out from the crowd, to fit in rather than stick out.

Which is all well and good, but when this comes from chefs in a coutry responsible for murdering foreign cuisine in new and unimaginable ways it’s a little funny… nah actually a lot funny.

Still que sera sera right, and whether or not they want to admit it, accept it or do whatever with it, the Japanese are responsible for some amazing cuisine and Tokyo definitely stands out as one of the major culinary centres for any self respecting foodie. It’s hardly surprising that Michelin chose to lavish that much praise on the city and its restaurants, as it is hardly surprising that some of the people reacted in the way they did.

No matter how good food can be in this city though, I still stand by my belief that some of the abberations Japan has come up with when it comes to interpreting foreign dishes is some of the most shocking stuff I’ve been unfortunate to see, smell or taste. Mentaiko spaghetti? Ughhhhh…

Popularity: 6%

written by Laurent \\ tags: food, Japan, Japanese Food, Random, society

For most foreigners, Japan not only carries an image of the exotic and different but also of futurism, aided in no small part by its cultural output, especially anime. Stepping into Tokyo for the first time, taking in the sights and sounds of places like Shinjuku or the public transport system only reinforces this perceived impression of a hypercapitalist, futuristic society. Give it a while though and you realise that while this impression does have a grounding in reality, it’s also exagerated in parts, misrepresented through an outsider’s lens.

But as I found out last month when I went to the Dairoboto exhibition, in Ueno, Japan does lead the world in robotics, which given the aforementioned preconceptions of a futuristic society, is hardly surprising. Japan uses more robots than any other country and, as the exhibition’s blurb explained, is the world’s leading ‘robot kingdom.’ A term that would send the imagination of any self respecting nerd wild with possibilities.

Continue reading »

Popularity: 5%

written by Laurent \\ tags: computers, geeking, Japan, pictures, robots, technology

Hindsight is a great thing, not least because with it comes the ability to be able to reflect on things that have happened and see them in a different light.

I’m coming up to the end of my short lived ‘career’ as an English teacher in Japan, or to give it a bit more accuracy, my Eikaiwa teacher career in Japan. As of the end of this month I’ll no longer be an English teacher (I guess there is always a next time, especially in this business).

I became an English teacher so that I could move to Japan, and live here for a while. I needed a change of scenery and a challenge, and it seemed like it could provide both. I took a CELTA degree before moving out, even though it’s not required for most Eikaiwa jobs. I always thought that if you were going to do something you should do it properly.

Four months or so after I arrived here and started working in the Eikaiwa industry, I wrote a series of posts debating the good, bad and ugly of the job. Well debating might be the wrong word. I was quite pissed off at the time, and it was more of a way to vent and put things down then really debating the pros and cons. And my experience at the time was limited to say the least.

Now with hindsight might be a good time to revisit some of the ideas.

Continue reading »

Popularity: 6%

written by Laurent \\ tags: Japan, Teaching

Last month’s edition of Back To Chill was special for a few reasons - end of year celebration, another all nighter and live sets by Japanese artists T2R and Quarta330. Quarta’s set was a particular highlight for me, as it was the first time I got the chance to see him do his thing live, which is pretty spectacular not the least because it involves him making some absolutely banging music using 2 Gameboys, some pedals and an interface. It was 30 mins of 8-bit, platform memories inducing, bass driven goodness. T2R’s live set was also nice, a lot darker than I expected it but very interesting.

And I guess even better is that we’ve managed to get audio from the whole night, thanks to man like Hyaku Mado. And so here’s a selection of sets from the night as well as the live from Quarta and T2R.

For more info on the BTC nights peep the blog. For more info on Quarta go to his myspace, and if you haven’t already go and cop his excellent Hyperdub release, which includes the devastating ‘9 Samurai’ refix.

BTC vol15 audio:

Hyaku Mado b2b Kper - 75 mins (right click and save as)
Goth Trad b2b Kper ft. Chinza Dopeness - 75 mins (right click and save as)
Onedown DJ - 75 mins (right click and save as)
Quarta 330 live set - 27 mins (right click and save as)
T2R live set - 20 mins (right click and save as)

Big up to everyone involved, check the blog for info on the next one.

Popularity: 9%

written by Laurent \\ tags: back to chill, goth trad, Japan, Music, night life, quarta 330

With 2007 now behind us this might be a good time for me to actually get back to writing… still working on that, what with living in temporary accommodation and having to sift through piles of to do stuff. I’ll get round to it though, promise. In the meantime here’s some more pictures, this time from my New Year skiing trip.

Getting out of the city for New Year was probably the best idea I’ve had in a long ass time. Having spent the majority of the last 10 new year eves in a big city, I must admit that the great outdoors is a hell of a better place to spend your time. With that in mind I somehow managed to squeeze in a 3 day holiday over the New Year period, despite my now working for a Japanese company, and a newspaper on top, which entails no bloody holidays whatsoever (and I don’t qualify for legal holidays yet  :sad: ).

Continue reading »

Popularity: 6%

written by Laurent \\ tags: food, Japan, mountains, ski, snow

With a week long hangover and impending first skiing trip in nearly 14 years, it’s time for a round-up of my first year in Japan. Traditions and what not, everyone’s probably bored to death with yearly round-ups already but hey it’s the season of excess so I’ll add to it, considering I managed to keep my xmas shopping consumption to pretty much zero this year.

A lot has happened in one year. I’ve changed jobs much to my surprise, I’ve visited a lot more of Tokyo and Japan than I thought I would and I’ve also managed to attain a somewhat decent ‘beginner’ level in Japanese.

So to sum it up are two lists of what I consider good and bad points about living in Tokyo and Japan.

This’ll be my last post of the year. I’ve still got a bunch of things to write up which have accumulated and which I’ll get onto in the new year - once I’ve drunk away all the money I need to live and am forced to do nothing but work and sit in front of my computer at night.

Happy new year and wishes for 2008 to everyone.

2007 in two lists, bullet points and randomness  

Continue reading »

Popularity: 8%

written by Laurent \\ tags: food, Japan, Random